Josette Reborn
by Lovely girl 10
Summary: Tim Burton's Dark Shadows. As seen through Victoria's point of view, with some added in details. This is the story of the young Governess who managed to win the heart of our favorite vampire; Barnabas Collins. Rated T to be safe.
1. The Childhood

**Josette Reborn**

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that deals with Dark Shadows. Tim Burton owns this movie.

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Chapter 1-The Childhood

Once in my lifetime, I had a perfect life. And then in the next, it shattered with one little mistake. That mistake almost cost me my sanity when I was taken from my home to the insane asylum, all because I talked to a ghost.

A ghost that held the key to my past happiness. And it was hard to believe that all it took for me to unlock it was to go to the very place where it started.

I went by many names to get to where I was; Maggie Evans, Victoria Winters, and lastly Josette.

First off, the name Maggie Evans was given to me when I was just a little girl, the girl I once was before my whole life changed the very moment when I entered the Insane Asylum.

It began on a sunny day where most girls in my age went outside to play, do chores, or finish their homework that was due in the last minute. As much as I wanted to go outside and chat with other girls, I spent some of that time to read my books about how past traditions were before we had Democracy.

When I had turned ten, I kept feeling that I was being watched as I looked around my room and to my relief each time I didn't see anybody in particular other than my mom and dad.

That was until I noticed right at the end of my bed was a young woman who seemed to be staring at me with curiousness, as if wondering who I was. She also had a very odd dress on which made me think that she was from the Victorian Era where the fanciest dresses were established. Her long flowing hair that reached to her shoulders were floating in the air as if she was underwater, plus she was pale in color which told me that she is one of the dead.

"Hello, my name is Maggie Evans, who are you?" I once greeted with the most polite manners as I studied the ghost that kept her gaze locked with mine.

The ghost didn't answer to my greeting, let alone move a muscle as she stayed still on the bed.

I nodded, "Okay, you don't have to tell me who you are… What are you doing here?" I waited for the ghost to answer, yet to no avail, she never responded.

I attempted to talk again, this time introducing my doll. "This is my favorite doll, called Lucy. And my favorite thing about Lucy is her crazy, crazy red hair." The ghost's eyes went back and forth from my doll to me and back again. I was pleased that I caught her attention, so I continued.

"I mean, look at her red hair. And my second favorite thing about her is her nice, shiny, pink bow and…" I didn't notice that my parents were in my room until the ghost disappeared from my line of vision.

"Maggie, who were you talking to?" Mom asked, sounding fearful.

"I was talking to a ghost, mom." I answered, calmly.

Not long after I told them, a week later they suddenly rushed downstairs and called somebody on the phone that I didn't recognize. "Hello, Windcliff Sanitarium." My mother spoke. "Yes, we would like you to bring our daughter there until she gets better. Okay, we will send her off, thank you."

I knew long time ago that the Windcliff Sanitarium was meant to be a place for crazy people, but as young as I was, I never understood what they were talking about until the ambulance came onto our driveway.

They thought that I was crazy!

As they dragged me away to the very place that I dreaded, as my parents just looked on as I begged for them to let me go, I was placed inside of the car and they drove away to the place where I stayed for a very long time.

My parents thought that I would be cured from my curse in one year or such, but I knew that the ghost would not allow me to have peace, even throughout the years of my stay at the Insane Asylum, she was still there.

Being in a room with nothing else but a window while the top half of my body was strapped in a restraint jacket that wrapped both of my arms to the sides of my body, I laid down on the floor silently sobbing to myself as I stared at the ghost that ruined my happy life back at home.

"This is all your fault!" I whispered and choked back a sob closing my eyes to relieve myself of the pain.

I never knew how many days I was in the room, or how many times I was strapped onto a chair while the doctors gave me the electrical treatment. (Which by the way hurts so much!)

All I remembered was my plan of escape, which when I reached puberty by 20 years old, was almost unbelievable for me to do, but it had to be done. I slept for most of the night and I woke up before the clock struck 6:00 a.m. so that I could have as much time as I need to escape.

As I tied the rope to the outside of the window and managed to steal one of the knives to saw the jail bars off, I climbed up and slipped through the window. I was also glad that it was still dark out because it made my escape easier, since that most of the people at the Insane Asylum were still asleep.

However, it was also raining when I ran across the lawn, through the gate and disappeared into the town to hide myself from everyone else that might suspect me for one of the missing people in the crazy house.

I stopped for a moment right by a nearby diner and thought about what I was going to be doing. I knew that the Insane Asylum might come looking for me when they figured out that I had escaped, and I also knew that if I returned to my parents, they would attempt to drag me back to the deathtrap that they called a crazy home.

I finally decided that I have to start a new life, but I didn't know where to start… So I leaned right on the window and looked inside to see a stack of newspapers. A brilliant thought came into my mind as I walked inside; I could get a job!

I slowly walked over to the stack of newspapers and searched through them to find the more recent ones as I sat down in one of the booths to get a better look at the wanted ads. I also looked around the place to find a clock which told me that it was 6:30 a.m. in the morning.

"Excuse me, miss. Would you like a fresh glass of water?" One of the waitresses asked as she smiled at me. She had short blond hair and blue eyes and was wearing her working uniform.

I nodded. "I would very much like one, thank you." She walked over to where the kitchen was and returned to my booth with a glass of water with ice.

"Are you here alone for breakfast? Because we have a special treat for newcomers like yourself, if you are interested." She suggested as she handed me a menu.

I shook my head, feeling the coldness of my wet hair. "I don't think that it would be possible. I don't have any money on me, sorry."

She laughed. "You seriously don't know what today is, do you? Today at our restaurant, we are giving away some of our exquisite food for free! So I highly suggest that you help yourself to whatever you need for your day. There is no charge."

"That reminds me, what is today's date?" I asked with curiosity. I spent so much of my life in the Asylum that I couldn't keep track of the dates, so I needed to know what I was missing.

"Today's date is October 1st, 1972." She answered before she excused herself to help out the next customer that had just entered into the building, again suggesting that I help myself with whatever I am hungry for on the menu.

I decided to go for the classic pancakes with a side of bacon and a glass of milk. As I waited for my food to arrive, I took out one of the newspapers and looked through the wanted ads.

So far, I only found ones that asked for a cook, assistant manager, and a teacher, nothing else in the paper caught my attention as I searched through. I also sensed that I was being watched by the ghost again as I looked up from the paper and noticed that she was sitting in the opposite side of my booth, staring at me like usual.

Without wanting to attract attention to the other people who are in the diner, I brought my voice down to a whisper, "What do you want from me now? Don't you realize that I am busy trying to find a job without you ruining my chance of getting my life back in order?"

The female ghost didn't answer, as always whenever I try to talk to her. However, she tapped on one of the ads that I misread on the paper, pointing to a particular job that caught my attention.

From what it looked like, somebody by the name of Elizabeth Collins is searching for a Governess to watch over a kid named David Collins, her nephew. I looked over the wanted ad to find the location, which happened to be in Collinsport, Maine. I smiled softly to myself as I realized that the ghost made her amends with me to help me find a job.

Even though I haven't spent most of my time with kids, I still am willing to help them in their time of need.

As the waitress brought me my food, I politely asked for a pair of scissors to which she gave me hers and I snipped off the desired wanted ad and gave it back to her. "I see that you found the Governess position at Collinsport." She said as she explained. "It seems like a good job for a particular person like you. If you need to find the perfect transportation to get there, there is a train station that can take you there. All you have to do is get a ticket, and you will be in Maine in no time."

"Where can I find an application?" I asked, willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

"Unfortunately, we don't have those applications here, but I will give you some spare change in order for you to get started." The waitress handed me an envelope that carried some type of cash that she took out of her pocket. "This will be enough for you to get yourself a ticket."

I quickly looked in there to see that the envelope had about seventy dollars and I folded it back up and placed it in my pocket. After when I finished my breakfast, I left the waitress a small tip before leaving the diner. I figured that she deserved something for helping me.

I took a breath as I walked through the rain with nothing but the jacket that I purposely stole from the Asylum when they weren't looking, (Well, it was left behind when one of the people that left the place.) "Okay, now all I need now is a suitcase and then I will be on my way." I spoke to myself.

I took some of that time to get one with some clothes as I carefully shopped in a nearby clothing store. I also still had some of that money from the envelope; mostly forty dollars left since I gave one dollar for the waitress and spent some of the cash to get the suitcase and the clothes.

As the sun rises in the horizon, bathing the city of New York in its magnificent beauty, I broke out into a run to find the nearest train station to take me away from my old home, and away from the insane asylum.

I arrived at the train station at 7:00 a.m. as I handed twenty dollars to the ticket person as he gave me the ticket that can take me to Collinsport, Maine. I grabbed my suitcase and walked inside of the train cart and took a seat for the long trip that awaited me.

A few hours passed as the train went on its way to the state of Maine. I looked out the window to admire the beauty of the country that was passing me by, and I looked closely at the wanted ad, studying it.

I decided to practice my greeting as I spoke to myself. "Hello, my name is Maggie Ev-" I stopped myself as I tried to find a better name for my new life at Collinsport. '_You cannot use your original name. What if they knew about your escape from the Asylum that you were in? You need a new name!'_ I thought as I searched around.

From now on, the name of Maggie Evans… was dead to me. I looked on one of the walls to see an advertising picture that said 'Victoria BC. Winter Sports.' I repeated my greeting once more, with a new made up name. "Hello. My name is Victoria Winters. Please, call me Vicky." I smiled as I felt immediate comfort of my new name.

Once when the train made its stop right by the destination that I was going to, I got off and walked out of the station. To be honest, I was nervous… nervous that nobody wouldn't be my friend, nervous that somebody was watching me carefully as if they didn't trust me. But I told myself to endure what will come up in my new life. I practically wasn't nervous as heck when none of the cops recognized me, so I sighed in relief that I was safe. As I looked back on my horrible childhood, I made a vow to have a better future as an adult.

My name is Victoria Winters, and this is my story…

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_Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter! Review whenever you need to, and if I have any mistakes please tell me so that I can re-enhance it for your amusement. I will be adding in some details that the movie skipped out on as you might have already guessed in this chapter. This one probably explains 'how did Vicky get the suitcase?' and 'how did she get on the train?' _

_I will work on the next chapter as soon as possible! Thank you for reading. _


	2. The Warning

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the added in text that the movie doesn't have.

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Chapter 2- The Warning

I managed to find a nearby office to the train station to locate the applications for the next part of my journey. I studied each of the questions carefully as I filled it in; I also did my first cold call on the phone to alert the family that I was coming.

Most of the questions were easy and simple to answer like 'Why should I hire you over the other person who wants the job?' and such. However, I was a little bit worried about how I was going to get the job if I never had any education or proof that I am the one to do it.

After I went through all of the questions, I immediately got the application safely into my pocket as I went out of the station. I also got myself a lunch bag for my little trip as I walked on the road towards the town which will be waiting for the arrival of their new governess.

I soon noticed that it would take me a few days before I arrived at my destination, so I got onto the side of the road, dropped my suitcase to the side, and raised my thumb up to let the other drivers know that I am asking for a quick ride.

I never knew that my plan would work when a medium sized car with a white top and red coloring on the bottom half slowed down to where I was. I dropped my hand and grabbed my bag as somebody in the car opened the door to let me in.

I never thought that I could get help from hippies.

I couldn't tell how many were in the car as I got myself to take a seat in the front as one of the girl hippies moved to the side. "Thank you for giving me a ride." I thanked as the group gave me soft smiles.

"Don't mention it; we are always happy to help out people in their time of need." The leader of the hippies replied as he got the car to start again.

As the car began to move, I kept my gaze on the view from outside. I somehow thought that it was polite to let the hippies concentrate on the road as I thought about what I will be doing when I get to Collinsport.

"So, where are you from, Veronica?" One of the hippie girls asked me as she studied me for a little bit.

Veronica? I was silent as I figured that she probably had misspelled my name that I labeled on my suitcase. So I politely answered her, "New York. And it's Victoria."

She repeated, "'And it's Victoria'. I love this chick, man." A few giggles were heard as I smiled to myself. At least I had a good compliment…

"New York's a trip, huh?" One of the hippie guys asked me.

"I guess." I answered for him.

I noticed from outside of the car, there was a guide sign that pointed upwards to Collinsport. I breathed in a sigh as I knew that my destination was coming soon.

"What about you? What brings a New York girl out to the sticks?" The driver asked me with sudden curiosity.

I was silent for a moment in order to give an honest answer. "An old friend." I finally spoke. I thought to myself that I shouldn't tell them that I was brought here by a ghost.

We didn't talk as we rode through the town that is Collinsport. I looked out from the window as I took in the sight before me. It looked like a nice small town with some fishing businesses as I looked around from the abandoned house to the big mansion that is up on the hill.

Once when the hippies got me to where I needed to go, I thanked them for all of their help as I got out of their car and took my suitcase as they went on their way to who knows where.

I walked over to where the gate was and pushed it open. I studied the gate which looked rusted and that the symbol of the gate had a huge 'C' on it.

As I carefully walked through the forest, I somehow felt a little strange as I looked around the trail and stared in awe at the mansion that stood before me. '_Why do I feel like I know this place?'_ I thought to myself as I walked up to the door and knocked.

The door opened to reveal a middle aged man with grey hair and, from what it looked like; he was a little bit drunk. "Hello. I'm Victoria Winters." I greeted with a smile.

"Congratulations." He spoke immediately as he looked at me curiously, as if wondering why I was here.

I was at first confused about why he said congratulations when I haven't gotten the job yet. But I shook that thought out of my head as I told. "I'm here to see Ms. Collins Stoddard about the governess position."

He looked like he was in a trance before he responded. "Oh, yeah. Been expecting you. Come on." He led me inside of the mansion as I closed the door and followed him.

"Sorry I didn't grab you down at the station since you called to let us know that you were coming. Damn wagon's been acting up. Ms. Elizabeth won't spend the money to get her fixed." The man explained as we walked into the living room.

I almost couldn't believe the whole scenery inside of the mansion was simply amazing with the décor and such as I muttered. "It's beautiful."

"This place was designed for a staff of a hundred. Now they got a staff of me, and Mrs. Johnson." The man explained as he turned to an old woman who was cleaning one of the antics. "She is about as useful as a bucket without a bottom."

I continued on with the conversation. "Still, not every family has a house like this, or a whole town named after them." Even though that the house seemed ancient, I somehow have a sudden feeling that I knew this place before, I just didn't know why…

"Come again?" The man asked, as if he didn't hear me for the first time.

I slowly told him. "Collins. Collinsport."

"Never got that." He admitted with a shrug.

Something in the house had caught my attention as I looked over to a strange picture that seemed to intrigue my interest, as if I recognized it from somewhere. The picture had a young looking man with black hair and black clothing that seemed to be from the 18th century. He had his left arm posed on his hip and his other arm held a cane as he stood proudly like he was important.

"Barnaby, maybe. Something with a "Barn" in it. One of the real important ones from way back. Back when they were rich, rich people." The man told as we both walked over to take a closer look at the picture.

In my opinion, perhaps, I thought that the man in the picture looked handsome…

"Barnabas." A woman's voice echoed through the house as I turned my attention away from the picture to see a middle aged woman that was standing right by the staircase. "His name was Barnabas Collins. And he was the finest man this family ever knew."

The woman had pale blond hair and had a black dress on as she welcomed me to her place. "Welcome to Collinwood. You'll have to imagine us on a better day." She smiled as she gestured for me to follow her.

As we walked through some of the rooms, I handed her my application for her to look through. She appeared to be in deep thoughts as she studied it. "So, you are Victoria Winters, I presume?" She asked as she looked at me for a moment before examining the application.

"Yes." I answered.

"You should probably know when you get the job is that the house has some two hundred rooms, most of them are closed off to save on heating. We don't even go in the old wing anymore." Her voice trailed off for a moment before asking me to take a seat on the couch. "There are only seven of us, after all." She paced in the drawing room as she stopped right by the piano before continuing. "My daughter, Carolyn, and I. My brother, Roger, and his son, David. Willie, who you've met right by the door. Mrs. Johnson and Dr. Hoffman… who I suspect is sleeping off one of her legendary hangovers."

"And where is David's mother, if you don't mind my asking?" I asked, curious, and eager to learn more about the whole family.

Elizabeth seemed to be in thought for a moment as she explained slowly. "Laura was lost at sea… when David was five. He's had a rather difficult time accepting her passing. I brought Dr. Hoffman here to work with him for a month." She took a seat right by me on the couch, holding her hands. "That was three years ago."

I fully understood what that young boy had gone through, since that I could almost relate to him in a way that we both had lost something dear to our hearts.

Elizabeth continued. "There are just a few questions, if you don't mind, that were not on the application" I tensed and stand silent, in fear that she had seen through my plan to get this job as she got up and paced the room again.

"How do you feel about the president?" She asked.

I breathed a sigh of relief to myself as I answered honestly. "Never met him."

She turned around to face me as she continued to ask. "The war?"

"I don't watch television." I answered again. At least that confession was true since I had spent most of my life in the asylum, plus they never had television when I was there.

"Do you think that the sexes should be equal?" She finished as she placed her right hand on the piano while her other hand was placed on her hip.

"Heavens, no. Men would become unmanageable." I answered with a hint of honesty in my voice.

I could see that I won her over with my answers as she smiled and shook my hand. "I think we'll get along just fine, Ms. Winters."

"Vicky. Please, call me Vicky." I smiled and shook her hand. "Do you mind if you can show me around the place?"

"Gladly." She said before she led me through the place. One of the rooms she stopped by was her daughter's room as she called out. "Carolyn."

The teenaged girl turned around to look at us as she was hanging around on her hammock. She had one leg crossed and the other was dangling out, keeping her balance on the hammock. She also had shoulder length blond hair like her mothers and she wore some type of clothing that I couldn't recognize, but it looked like she could be wearing a dress.

Elizabeth introduced me to the girl. "Carolyn, this is Ms. Winters." Immediately, the girl, Carolyn, quickly got out of her hammock and leaned right on the side of the door, studying me.

"You're from New York?" She asked with a hint of boredom and excitement that mixed together.

"I am." I answered her while Elizabeth seemed to be pleased that I was warming up to her daughter. "What's Manhattan like? I am going to live there when I'm sixteen." Carolyn replied.

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably as she stated. "Carolyn has a fantasy that I'm going to allow this."

"And Mother has a fantasy that I won't run away if she doesn't." Carolyn countered with a hint of bitterness toward Elizabeth. "So you're here to babysit the loony." She said when her attention was back onto mine for a moment.

"What have I told you about using that word?" Elizabeth warned.

"I am here to teach David." I said.

"Good luck. None of the others made it past a week, Ms. Winters." Carolyn simply told as she moved to the door.

"Please, call me Vicky." I replied before she shut the door with a sign that said 'Keep out'.

After the whole tour of the mansion was done, Elizabeth led me to the dining hall for dinner. Carolyn was down there as well when she began to play her music and did a little dance with it.

"Chop-chop, Willie, I'm starving." A man's voice, who I could tell, belonged to Elizabeth's brother who had just entered into the room and took a seat on the chair that is to Elizabeth's left side. He had pale blond hair and some casual like clothing on him.

"And help me if it's another bone-dry pot roast-" He stopped for a moment to notice that I was in front of him as I managed to get some of my food in order. "Who's this?" He asked; whether curious or fearful I may never know. After when Elizabeth introduced us to each other, I heard another person coming into the room.

"You're a liar." A woman's voice pronounced as she came into the room, I turned my attention toward her as she came up right by me. "I can tell, you know. Just from a person's face." The woman, I suspected was the psychiatrist who tended to David; Dr. Julia Hoffman. She had the brightest red hair that I never imagined to be possible for a person to have, plus she had a polka dotted dress and a drink in her hand. "Yours says: "I might look sweet and innocent, but I have secrets. Secrets that'll make the hairs on your arms stand straight up."

I didn't know what I wanted to say, but from my thoughts alone I thought that she was crazy. Crazy enough to go into the insane asylum if she definitely was _that_ crazy. Elizabeth spoke up for me. "Leave her be, Julia."

"You're the doctor." I said to continue the conversation.

"Yeah. And you're the 'nanny' and she's 'the bitch.'" Julia said in a whisper. "How do you ever expect us girls to advance, if we keep reducing each other to labels?"

"So, Vicky, where'd you c-?" Roger asked before taking his attention toward Carolyn when her music got louder. "Carolyn! Will you please turn that noise down?" His shout made the girl stop in her tracks before she turned off the music, giving us some peace and quiet.

I stopped eating my cooked up carrot when I noticed that there was a ghost right behind Roger. Apparently it wasn't like the ghost I knew, but it was a ghost with a sheet, somebody was underneath it. And obviously, Elizabeth replied to the ghost, "David. This is Vicky. She is going to be your new governess."

The boy, David, took off the sheet in a fit of embarrassment and anger at Elizabeth for ruining what he was about to do, "You ruined it! I was gonna scare her."

"What have I told you about cutting holes in the sheets? Those are Egyptian cotton." Roger scolded the boy as he took his seat right by his father.

David was wearing a striped shirt and he had black hair on his head. As he was cutting his food, he whispered to me. "I was gonna scare you. Were you scared?"

I decided to pretend that I was scared when I answered. "Terrified beyond belief." I noticed a smile on his face as he continued to cut his food.

Carolyn muttered. "You don't have to be nice to him just because he's nuts, you know."

"Carolyn…" Elizabeth warned, not ready to have a cat fight that might be coming up.

David countered. "Carolyn touches herself. She makes noises like a kitten."

"David." Elizabeth softly scolded before Carolyn was about to get out of the chair and attack him, she managed to stop her in her tracks. "Carolyn. Enough, both of you."

Carolyn sat back down as I asked. "If I may, what is the family business?" I was honestly curious to know if the Collins had a certain type of business that got them to be famous in Collinsport.

"Seafood, Ms. Winters." Elizabeth answered. "We had a large cannery in town. We still own a few fishing boats."

"Rusty old boats that no one would hire." Carolyn continued. "And David's mother's at the bottom with one of them." David suddenly turned as if ready to make a good combat.

"Carolyn, go to your room." Elizabeth stated, getting sick and tired of her daughters rudeness.

That was when the girl snapped. "Everybody in this house tiptoes around him, but no one cares how I feel!" She later walked right out of the room and headed straight for her room.

After the door slammed shut, David broke the silence. "She didn't die. She can't."

"Enough, David." Roger warned.

Julia leaned over to me and whispered. "David believes that his mother has some kind of… cyclical immortality. Fascinating, really."

"I feel her." David continued. "She talks to me. All the time."

I could tell that nobody in the room would believe him, so I simply spoke. "Well, I think that ghosts are just people who've moved into a slightly different dimension than ours. And I think that some people just have antennas strong enough to pick them up."

Somehow, I felt as if Elizabeth didn't want me to encourage her nephew further than what he already was on, but she was silent along with the others before I continued. "There's actually scientific evidence to support-"

"Thank you, Ms. Winters." Elizabeth interrupted and smiled, telling me to stop before her mood on me gets worse.

We ate in silence the rest of the night.

Evening came by as I placed my suitcase on the bed and changed into my nightgown with a light blue dress. I took a quick look in the mirror to see how I looked.

Somehow, my physical features had matured and been brought back to normal after I successfully escaped from the asylum. My brunette hair was flowing down to my shoulders as I examined myself in the mirror for anything else out of the ordinary.

As I continued to unpack some of my things to where they needed to go, I noticed from the corner of my eye that David's ghost sheet appeared right in front of me.

Thinking that it was David trying to scare me again, I replied. "David. You startled me. Getting ready for Halloween?" The person under the sheet didn't answer as I looked at the sheet closely.

I knew, somehow, that David was not under the sheet. Strangely enough, I felt that the ghost, _my_ ghost, was standing before me, staring at me like usual. I carefully took off the sheet as the ghost revealed herself to me. This time, her hair was floating in the air as if she was under water.

I stood my ground when I whispered softly, "What do you want from me now?" I silently wished that I never wanted to see her again; neither to know what kind of torture is she going to make me go through.

To my total shock, and surprise, the ghost finally answered, but what she said froze my thoughts as she spoke in a haunting voice, which almost sounded like mine. "_He's coming_."

She turned away from my gaze and slowly floated, or walked, out into the hallway. The darkness of the hallway added in the scary feeling that the ghost was warning me about something…

I followed behind her as she led me to the living room, where she floated right by the chandelier. She looked at me and repeated in that same hypnotic hauntingly voice. "_He's coming_."

Before I knew what was happening, the ghost turned away from my gaze and slowly fell from the chandelier and fell through the floor in her ghostly form, disappearing from my line of vision.

I walked right back to my room and covered my body with the bed sheets, thinking about what the ghost had just said.

"_Who is coming to Collinwood? Who could it be? Why here? Could it be the asylum people that have found my hiding place?"_ I thought to myself as I let sleep take over.

Something, bad or good, is going to happen… I just didn't know what it was as I slept the night away.

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_Okay, we all know that haunting ghost scene in the movie where Victoria meets up with Josette's ghost. I think this chapter answers how Victoria got the application and how she felt about the other people she connected with. Pretty soon in the next chapter, I will work on how she felt when she first encountered Barnabas when he arrives at Collinwood. Review whenever you want, and if you feel uneasy about me adding in the text that is not in the movie then you can tell me in the review. I want to be sure to please you all as best as I can._


	3. The Name

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the movie but the added in text.

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Chapter 3-The Name

That night, I felt that somewhere in the town below, something happened… I could tell because of the distance screams that took place. Whether it is screams of fear or excitement, I had no idea of what happened.

But the ghost did…

She was watching the window as if from amazement to know that what she said was true.

_He_ was coming… but who is this 'he' that she is waiting for? Could it be her murderer when she was reenacting her death? Is she waiting for her long lost boyfriend or husband that would never come? I would never know… until I would look around the house for some answers.

Time flew by throughout the night as morning came up. The sun shined in my room, and excessive knocking was heard on my door as I got myself out of the bed and answered it.

David was right behind it as he spoke. "Vicky, my aunt is asking for all of us to come to the dining room immediately. There is a new person here that will help us out in our fishing business." He left in supersonic speed to get to the dining room.

I rose up my eyebrow in confusion as I got myself to go to the bathroom to wash myself and get my clothes on. As I slowly walked down the staircase, I began to think about what the ghost had warned me about.

Although, I kind of overheard some of the conversation that took place in the dining room as I listened. "Huh. Good luck." Roger's voice said. "Angie has deals with most of the boats in Maine."

"Angie?" A new voice asked in confusion. I tensed when I heard that voice because I had never heard it before, plus I felt a bit nervous if the person was actually one of the people at the asylum that is looking for me.

I next heard Elizabeth's voice as she explained. "Angelbay. They've taken just about every port on the East Coast."

"And that is where my work begins. And with your blessing, I shall restore the family business to its former glory." The new man's voice proclaimed.

I finally found the urge to present myself to the new person, even if it risks me being dragged back into the insane asylum, as I walked into the room.

Everybody fell silent as I entered into the picture, no one else dared to speak… until the man's voice, whether in confusion or in shock as he whispered. "Josette."

'_Who is this Josette?'_ I asked myself in my thoughts as I turned my gaze to look at the newcomer. For a moment, I thought that I was looking at the picture of Barnabas Collins again, but I realized later that this person was the real deal as he stared at me with a confused expression written on his face.

He had the same black hair and dark eyes, plus the 18th century clothing that adorned his body. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the edge of the table, staring at me.

I was about to tell him who I was before David covered for me, saying. "That's Vicky. She believes in ghosts, like me."

It took a moment for me to get myself back together as I greeted in a soft tone. "Hi." I moved my hand in order to shake his, he kept his grasp upon my hand as if he didn't want to let go. I noticed that he was extremely pale like how a ghost would, and he had long fingernails as his hand gingerly wrapped around mine.

"Enchanted." He replied in a gentleman like tone, holding his gaze with mine. "Surely, you do not let them call you 'Vicky'." His deep voice then whispered, making my spine tingle and kept me frozen in place. "A name like Victoria is so beautiful… I could not bear to part with a single syllable of it."

I could not even believe what I was feeling inside. I mean, sure there are some guys in the world who would make the woman they love to feel the necessary emotions that is required of them to woo the woman. Now, as I stood there, in front of his gaze, I somehow became silent after when he complimented me by my made up name.

_'He said that my name was beautiful!' _My mind squealed in excitement like a young girl who is nuts over the boy she liked in school. I somehow shook my head in annoyance at myself. _'Just because he gave you a good compliment, doesn't mean that he likes you immediately!'_ I knew that to be true. You can't make somebody fall in love with you in one day. But I sometimes wonder if it could be possible.

_'At least he is a good gentleman when it comes to making a woman feel welcomed.'_ My conscious mentioned as I kept my gaze with his and gave him a soft smile. I almost felt like I wanted to run into his arms and let him hold me for a long time, never to let me go...

I also sensed that there is something about him that is making me feel odd. I just don't know why, but I somehow got the feeling that I knew him from somewhere…maybe in a past life, perhaps? I could already feel my cheeks burn as I thought about those things. _'Speak, Vicky, speak!'_ My conscious demanded as I tried to form the words in my thoughts before Roger broke the silence.

"Yeah, well… money might grow on trees where you're from, but it's a little harder to come by here." He warned in an impatient tone.

I quickly moved my hand away from the man that made my heart go crazy as I went to my seat; I turned to see that he was somehow reluctant to see me go as he returned to his seat.

He reassured Roger. "Do not concern yourself with my methods. I should like to see the factory immediately." He then asked Elizabeth. "How soon can the horses be ready?"

Elizabeth answered while she was holding her cup of coffee. "We don't have horses… we have a Chevy." Her explanation earned a disbelief look from him as he cocked his head, wondering what the heck she was talking about.

"Is this Chevy a new breed of horses?" He asked.

He earned a laugh from Elizabeth as she explained. "A Chevy is a _car_, not a horse, Barnabas."

I stopped eating my food as I looked at her. "His name is Barnabas?"

"The third." Elizabeth told me. "He is Barnabas Collins III, and he is going to stay with us from England. Plus as you can see, he is in a state of culture shock, meaning that he is not used to what our society has."

I nodded, understanding what she is saying as I continued to eat up my breakfast. Elizabeth also decided to let Barnabas sleep in his room to catch up on his slumber before he goes to check out the factory.

I began to do my first hours of work with David as we hung around in my room, playing with his toys. I suddenly heard intense knocking as I went outside of my room to check it out while telling David to stay put.

I heard Barnabas' voice shouting. "What was that infernal banging?" His footsteps were rushing to see what was going on as Elizabeth told him that he has a visitor.

I thought about going back to my room to keep an eye on David, but I was curious to know who the new visitor was as I walked down the stairs and asked Elizabeth. "Who could be here to see Barnabas?"

Elizabeth turned to me and told me in a warning tone. "The person that he is seeing is Angie Bouchard. She is the main reason why we are having a difficult time in getting our business back together. I should warn you, Vicky, that Angie may look like she is a nice person, but she is dangerous. So, leave her to me and Barnabas, okay?"

I nodded before my attention turned to a small picture of a woman who was also from the 18th century, which oddly reminded me of the ghost that haunted me throughout my childhood and my beginning stages of adulthood. She had her hair tied into a bun and as I examined the picture further, her face somehow resembled mine.

"Elizabeth, who is that person in the picture?" I asked as she turned quickly to see which picture I was looking at.

"That is Josette DuPres. The fiance of the first Barnabas Collins. Legends told of her untimely death when she fell off of Widow's Hill, either by her own accord or by a curse that her fiance said was cast upon her by a witch." Elizabeth told.

As she explained, I studied the picture of the dead woman who haunted me. Why would she be haunting me? What is her motive? And why do my features fit perfectly with hers?

Suddenly a terrified scream filled the air with fear as I realized that Barnabas might have been hurt, so I rushed over to where the drawing room was, but not before I received a strange look from a woman with bright blond hair, who I suspected, is this Angie person that Elizabeth was talking about.

She gave me a disapproving look as she warned. "You may have been reincarnated, but you will not take Barnabas away from me this time, _Josette_." She hissed the word 'Josette' as her warning left me confused before I turned around and told her, "My name is not Josette, its Victoria." , the woman didn't reply as she disappeared from my sight.

I ignored her warning as I walked into the drawing room; Barnabas was kneeling on the floor, trying to shield his eyes and his face from the sunlight that seeped through the window.

"You okay, Barnabas?" I asked, wondering what the woman did to him. He managed to twitch his hands as he pointed toward the curtains, urging me to shut them.

I did exactly that as I closed the curtains, satisfied that he was getting himself back on his feet. "Are you hurt?" I moved toward him in order to help him back up, pulling his arms upwards and straightened him out.

He nodded. "I'm not practically injured anymore. Thank you, Victoria." His eyes showed me a sign that he was really glad that I helped him. "Would you mind in retrieving Elizabeth? I have to speak with her about something important…"

I nodded. "Sure, Barnabas. I will get her for you." I went out of the door and managed to find Elizabeth and told her that Barnabas wanted to talk with her. She immediately went on her way to where he was waiting. I also returned to where David was waiting for me as I continued my duty of being his governess until night came upon the mansion.

As I laid down on my bed, thinking through the new information I found about the ghost that haunted me, I wondered about how I was going to get her to leave me and not bother me again.

I do know that most ghosts would not leave the world until its basic motive was finished, so I will have to know what Josette's ghost wants when I see her the next time. The sooner I get rid of the ghost, the better my life is without it.

But, on the other hand... The woman, Angie, somehow mistook me for the ghost, and that she wanted me to stay away from Barnabas. I narrowed my eyes in confusion at that thought. Why on earth would I want to stay away from Barnabas? Is she his old girlfriend or something? I shook my head at that question. No, Barnabas somehow has a strong dislike about her, I had seen the look of disgust on his face that told me that he didn't want to look upon that woman again for as long as he lived.

I soon let my sleep get the better of me as I dosed off in the bed, but as soon as I fell asleep, I felt someones finger caressing my cheek softly, as if I was very fragile and easy to break. That person then softly walked out of the room to let me continue my slumber.

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_Author's Note: I probably know that this chapter is short, but I am determined to give you readers enough information so that you like the chapter. Review whenever you want as I work on the next chapter._


	4. The Love Bug

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the added in text that the movie didn't provide.

_If you people had seen the deleted scene where Carolyn tells Victoria about what Barnabas said about her 'birthing hips', I will do my best to explain some of it in detail. And just so that you know, for those of you who thought about if the deleted scene should have stayed in the movie or not, I think Victoria is still the innocent girl we all know and love, minus the fact that she smoked only **once** in this story._

_Enjoy reading, and sorry for the long wait._

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Chapter 4- The Love Bug

All day in the morning and night there was thousands of workers who were in the mansion cleaning up the place from head to toe. And once they started working on one end to the next, the rooms seemed to be livelier than before.

Elizabeth and Barnabas III had decided to clean up the mansion before they thought about going onto the factory. And I didn't know how they found all of the workers, but they managed to convince them to help out.

David and I had to go into the drawing room in order to stay out of the construction workers ways as they painted on the walls, moved the furniture, and enhanced a lot of things in the mansion.

Willie was outside cleaning up the car and Ms. Johnson was on the lawn mower cutting the grass as she sat in the seat. Elizabeth had moved to her spare office room when the construction workers had to clean up her first office. Carolyn and Roger did their best to stay out of the way as Barnabas III looked on as his creation was almost complete at the mansion.

The next day as the construction workers took a break on the house, we decided to get ready to look at the factory as the Collins family got themselves ready for the day. However, I did notice that when we crossed into the sunlight, Barnabas III stayed put inside of the house.

By telling David to wait outside, I went back in to see what the matter was. "Barnabas, aren't you coming to see the factory?" I asked, concerned.

He looked at me, hesitant as he didn't dare move a muscle. "I can't go out into the sun… I'm afraid that I will burn if I go out." He simply stated as he stared at the sunlight on the floor.

I heard Roger scoffing softly, "You won't get burned Barnabas. Just step outside."

Barnabas turned his attention to the man, clearly intending to not go outside. "I am serious; I will burn if I step outside!"

I quickly gave a glance to Elizabeth, telling her that I will assist him as I moved up to the door and gently shut the door behind me. I immediately moved toward the closest closet and looked through them to find a huge black coat, hat, and sunglasses as I gently closed the door, carrying the necessary items for Barnabas.

"What on earth are those?" He asked, obviously wondering what the heck I was carrying as I placed them on him one at a time. The hat was the first to cover his head as it gave him some shade, same with the coat as it covered his body, and as I placed the sunglasses right by his eyes, he cocked his head, wondering, "Why has the room suddenly turned dark?"

I softly laughed, "That is what the sunglasses are for, Barnabas. They will protect your eyes, whereas the coat and hat will protect your head and your body." My hands moved toward the black umbrella that was hanging on the side of the closet and opened the door leading to the front yard once more. "You can also use this…," I gestured to the umbrella and allowed his hands to grab it. "…to protect yourself from the sun if it bothers you so much."

I walked outside and watched as he pulled the umbrella out and allowed it to cover his whole body in the shade. As Barnabas stepped out of the door and into the sunlight, with the umbrella over his head, he looked around as if he was waiting for the sun to burn him. Realizing that he was safe under the umbrella, Barnabas III sighed in relief while still grasping onto the new weapon that saved his life.

"Let's go see the factory, shall we?" He asked Elizabeth before she leads the way to where their business building was in the town. Before we all got into the yellow car one by one I heard Barnabas calling out to me in a whisper. "Thank you Victoria." I somehow blushed as he softly smiled at me, "Your welcome."

The drive through the town was quick as we stood by the doors of the abandoned workplace where we would get the Collins Family business afloat again. Once the doors were opened, the sight was above the ordinarily hideous in its condition. The wood was old, mice and birds inhabited the place as they cooed and squeaked in response at our overwhelming presence.

"Okay," Elizabeth started. "Once we clean up this place, we will be back on track with our business." The clean-up went on for more than four hours as we dusted, mopped, and chased out the mice and birds with the brooms and such to get them out of the place. In a few days, as how Elizabeth planned, we will work on redecorating the business workplace as soon as the house is done.

The next day came by and I was outside watching David right by the beach reading a new book I had found in the library called "Love Story". I sometimes gazed back and forth from the book to David and back again, but no matter how hard I try to read the book... I couldn't understand most of the old language, so I just kept one of my fingers inside of the book as I watched David, who was playing in the water calling "Come and get me Mom!" I laughed softly to myself as I wondered what was going through his head.

"You having troubles reading the book?" Barnabas' voice asked right behind me as I jumped in surprise and turned to see him looking down on me, giving a small smile like usual as if he was pleased to see me.

I shuttered from shock. "I never heard you coming right by me..." I took a deep breath to calm myself. Does he like to scare people by sneaking around the place? I had recently heard from Elizabeth that he might have been in the mood to scare people since he managed to catch Ms. Johnson off guard by fitting into the shelf where the towels were, even though the old woman didn't seemed to be fazed by it, and how he managed to hang upside-down on the curtains right by the bed without any troubles, so I thought that he must have learned how to be flexible when it comes to exercising his body.

He chuckled. "I sometimes like to surprise the people that are close to me." He walked over and sat right beside me and examined the book in my hands. "Now, as I was saying, do you need help reading this?"

I looked at him, bewildered by how he is going to handle reading something that I couldn't read. "I can read it. Its just the old English language that is giving me a pain." I didn't expect to hear him laugh softly.

"No wonder you were studying it too hard! Allow me to help you understand it better. I know Old English, even if I was blindfolded!" He spoke as he started reading the first pages of the book while I somehow allowed my head to rest upon his shoulder, listening to his words. Somehow, he didn't mind when my head was resting on his shoulder._  
_

The next day was when the workplace was complete and ready to open to the public. The Collins family went to spread the news that they are back in business in order to show that Angie is not usually the top dog at Collinsport. I had to stay behind at the mansion along with Ms. Johnson while the rest of the group was in the town.

As soon as the family returned to get back on track of the mansion, I asked them if I could go to the library to research a few things. David offered to escort me since he was about to go over there anyway to research about his family tree.

Once we arrived at the library, David immediately helped me out in finding a book about the Collins family tree. I looked over to where the pages that described the ghost that haunted me in my childhood.

"_Josette DuPres was the only daughter of the famous family that was close friends of the Collins family."_ I read. "_When she was at the coming age to be given away to marriage, she was at first hesitant because she didn't know if the Collins' remaining heir would be friendly and kind to her._

_When she was a child, she was the black sheep of the other group of girls because she remained loyal to her parent's wishes instead of doing what the other girls did before they were to be hitched. Those girls liked to defy their parents rules while Josette remained ever so loyal to her mother and father. When the time came for the young woman to be engaged to the heir of the Collins family, Josette became worried for unknown reasons. She wanted to know what type of mess she was getting herself into before she was to be married to a man that she never met before._

_When she first encountered the heir of the family; Barnabas Collins, she felt immediate relief when he began to treat her like she was his queen, his own sister, and his own lover as if they already went through the marriage already. She began to fall in love with him as if he was her most precious memory that she didn't want to part with._

_However, little did she know that she was igniting the Witch's wrath after when she and Barnabas shared their first kiss._

_One night, Josette suddenly had the urge to go outside and get some fresh air, not knowing that she was being cursed by the Witch to jump off of Widow's Hill. Some of her relatives thought that she committed suicide to escape the expectations of her family to do what they asked, and that she never loved the Collins heir in the first place, while her soon-to-be husband said that she was cursed by the very woman who was deeply jealous of Josette because she got to be with him and that she didn't._

_"Help me." was her last words before her life ended on that very cliff where her corpse was put to rest. Nobody knew of what happened to her fiance after her death, except that he was rumored to have disappeared from his home. Heartbroken over the loss of his beloved, Barnabas attempted to throw himself off of the cliff, tragically to no avail. After realizing that his attempted death failed, he disappeared from the house, leaving no sign that he was alive or not."_

I closed the book, shocked to know of the terrible fate that claimed the woman who haunted me. However, it still made me wonder about how to help the ghost pass onto the afterlife peacefully. Could her murderer be still alive? I shook my head at that thought because I knew better about that question... Her murderer might have died a long time ago.

That left me with one other possibility. Josette's ghost might be stuck in between like how other ghosts do when they can't leave the one thing they hold dear to their hearts.

So that meant I am probably not going to get her to leave me alone...

I didn't notice that night came to the mansion as I looked out the window. David's voice took me out of my thoughts as he simply told. "Carolyn wants to talk with you." I turned to look at him, only to see that Carolyn was right by the door, waiting for me to come with her.

I obliged as I left David with his ghostly mother that he said will watch him as I go see what Carolyn wants to talk with me about. And from the look of things, Carolyn's face told me that it had something to deal with me.

Not that I could blame her curiosity about me living in New York, but it was something entirely different. Once when she locked the door and I sat on the floor, she simply spoke. "There is something that you should know about what I had discovered, and it has to deal with the new relative of ours; Barnabas."

She laid down on the floor and proclaimed in her usual tone when she is around me, while I somehow carelessly took out a cigarette from my pocket. Okay, I admit, I hardly smoked ever since I came to the mansion, but I sometimes had to take out my stress on something else other than taking a shower and such. And I only stole one from Dr. Hoffman when she wasn't looking. So this is completely my first time of smoking.

I listened to what Carolyn was talking about as she said. "Barnabas came into my room to ask me about how to date a woman of the modern era."

That new information caught my attention too well as I asked, confused. "Why did he have to ask you? He could have gone to your mother or Julia for that information."

"He told me that he didn't want to disturb them when they were working." Carolyn explained. "He then asked me how old I was and I told him that I was fifteen years old. I could tell that he was surprised when he stated in an old fashion manner, 'Fifteen and no husband. You must put those birthing hips to good use at once, less your womb will shrivel up and die.' I told him that he was weird when he told me that, and he asked me if he was too weird, but other than that I should tell you about what he said about you, Vicky."

"He was talking about me?" I asked, stunned. I hoped that he didn't say anything bad about me as I waited for Carolyn to tell me what he said.

She nodded. "In his own words, he said that he wanted to court you, and he said that you have the most fertile birthing hips that he ever laid eyes upon." She softly giggled at my surprised expression.

I gasped, taking the cigarette out of my mouth. "He didn't!"

"Yeah, he did." Carolyn countered in a soft tone. "I swear, he started singing Steve Miller and talked about your birthing hips. He has the hots for you, big time!"

I shook my head. "I don't know. He's strangely..." I trailed off because I didn't know how to put him into words. I mean, yeah, he is handsome, and treats me like a queen whenever we encounter each other, and he is also a very good gentleman at that, but I never thought that he would want to go for a girl like me... Especially if he knew about my dark past, he would turn away from me as quickly as he was attracted to me. Then he might think that I was crazy if I told him that I see Josette's ghost.

I was almost going to finish my sentence by saying 'he's strangely... attractive for a man of his age, but I am not sure if he wants to court me like how he wanted to.', but Carolyn cut me off guard by standing up on her arms. I handed her the cigarette that I was smoking, because I finally had it with the smoke, but I successfully hid that expression from my face as Carolyn slowly grabbed it from my hand.

"If you tell my mother, she'll-" She started before I told her.

"If I tell your mother, it would be _my_ ass, not yours." I finished as I watched her expression go from hesitant to relief and laid back down. "I know that it is none of my business, but it seems like you two are having a hard time of getting along. Why is that?"

"She doesn't understand what it is like to be me..." Carolyn answered. "Nobody in this stupid family does." I kind of took pity for her because I somehow felt that way too when it comes to being the outsider of the family. However, she was lucky enough to have a family who cares about her while mine just swept me under the rug just because I was different, or cursed because they didn't want me to be different from any of the other girls.

Over my stay at the Collins mansion, I had learned to use the saying 'forgive and forget', since that my parents were trying to do what was best for me. So I explained to Carolyn. "It might seem that way, Carolyn, but these are things that all young women go through..."

Carolyn stood up, looking at me like she was serious. "Look. You seem nice and I know that we should be having this girl talk. But trust me, you don't understand either."

I nodded, acknowledging the fact that I have yet to understand her and the rest of this family. "I could understand if you told me what is bothering you, but I guess that you won't be able to let me in your head in order to know what is going on. Besides," I got myself to stand up and walk over to the door, being careful to not step on the young girl. She followed me with her gaze. "I was in the same boat as you, Carolyn... But, you are really lucky to have a mother that cares about you and would do anything to be sure that your happy. I am sure that you and your mother will find ways to get along."

After I said what I needed to say, I left her in her room to think through the information I gave her. I managed to find my way back to the library where David was waiting for me as I sat down right by the table he was sitting in, studying him as he worked on his crossword puzzle that he was just finishing.

"How did the talk with Carolyn go?" He asked.

"It went good. She told me that Barnabas III is looking for ways to court me." I explained, blushing at the mention of his name.

His face brightens, which told me that he was getting excited about something that I wished to know. He whispered to himself. "Uncle Barnabas is interested in my nanny? I would like to see how that goes. Then, Vicky would be my new aunt!"

That caught me off guard. I almost fell out of the chair for it, but I caught myself before my body slammed into the ground. "Did you just call Barnabas your uncle, David? He is your aunts cousin that you haven't met for a long time, and here you are calling him your uncle."

David turned to me and explained. "He maybe is a cousin to my aunt, but I think he is more than a cousin to me. So I call him Uncle Barnabas whenever we see each other. I like him, Vicky, he is my idol and I want to be just like him."

I shook my head, questioning. "Does he allow you to call him that?"

"He didn't mind." David confessed. "He actually is like a father I never had, aside from my Dad of course." He became silent as he took his attention back to the book for Old English as he studied the words one at a time.

I went on to a different subject in order to keep the conversation going. "Do you really _see_ your mother, and feel her, like how you described?"

David nodded. "Yes. Don't tell me you now believe me to be crazy like how my aunt and my doctor think so, because I really _do_ see my mother."

"David, I would never think of that about you." I simply stated in a soft tone. "If you want to know something interesting, it is that I was once like you when I was young." I could tell that he seemed intrigued by what I told him.

"Your family thought that you were crazy too?" David asked softly.

I nodded. "Yeah. But aside from you, I was taken to the Insane Asylum because I had been talking to a ghost. You are pretty lucky to not be taken to that place, David."

"That's because I sometimes kept my ghostly mother as a secret." David confessed. "So, who's ghost did you see?"

Instead of speaking out my answer, I looked over to the bigger picture of Josette and pointed my finger to it, David followed my gaze and gasped softly. "You see her too! And here I thought that I was the only one who could see ghosts!"

"Since that you can see and hear the ghost, David, do you know what I could do to get Josette's ghost to go to the afterlife?" I asked, curious.

He shook his head. "I don't, but I think my Mom can tell you what to do. She sometimes bump into Josette and they are very good friends, since they both haunt the house."

"Is your mother here so that I can speak to her?" I asked once more.

The young boy seemed to be in deep thought before he responded. "She isn't here for the moment. But, I do think that by tomorrow or such, I can talk to her and see if she can give you some information that you might need."

I nodded as we made a plan to have a visit with his ghostly mother as soon as David finds her and tells her about my predicament with Josette's ghost.

A few hours went by as I got myself ready for bed once more. As I laid in my bed, I kept a lookout to see if the ghost of Josette would show-up. Now that I learned a little bit more information about the ghost, I am determined to find a way of getting rid of her once and for all. But I still have no way into knowing what she wants.

But I made a plan for myself to research a bit more about the ghost before I have that visit with David's mother. Along with trying to figure out my feelings towards Barnabas.

I just hope that I don't have any trouble...

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_Author's Note: Review whenever you like, and if you see any mistakes in this chapter, please tell me so that I can re-enhance the chapter for you. I hope that you liked this chapter. _


	5. The Reason

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the added in text that the movie didn't provide.

_I hope you like this new chapter. And I also know that we are just about finished with this story, just a few more and then I will be done with this._

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Chapter 5- The Reason

Morning came up as I groggily got myself out of my bed to dress up in my newest dress that I had bought in the store before I came to the mansion. I then immediately got to work on trying to find David in the house, but the thing was… he disappeared somewhere within the house.

I thought that he got a habit into finding those secret tunnels that were cleverly hidden, for that I chuckled softly. But I hoped that he would find his ghostly mother so that I could be ready to help the ghost of Josette move on into the afterlife.

I took the time to look outside the window that overviewed the beach, and the one person standing right by the rocks was the one person I somehow have grown attached to; Barnabas III.

I smiled as I quickly walked downstairs and opened the door to go and meet up with him. I could hear the roaring waters as I walked carefully to where Barnabas was patiently waiting, as if he was expecting somebody to come and talk to him.

"Barnabas!" I called, catching his attention by surprise.

He turned around and spotted me. He was wearing the black coat, sunglasses and the hat that I found for him. "Ah, Victoria." He spoke in a pleased tone.

I stopped a few inches away from him as I looked straight in his dark eyes, asking politely. "Mind if I tag along?"

He quickly moved his dark cane to his left hand and offered me his other hand like a good gentleman would do if they have someone to walk with. "Nothing would make me happier." He said.

I wrapped my arm around his, feeling the cold touch of the wind as I began to slowly walk with him. "You have come down for a stroll?" He asked.

I answered honestly. "Actually, I came down looking for David. Who knows where he has run off to now, but I have my suspicions that he is looking for those secret passageways in the house. We will be lucky if we see him before Christmas."

Barnabas commented. "He's a fine lad. He is as curious and rambunctious as I was."

"He idolizes you, Barnabas." I added. "Between you and his mother, I can hardly get him to talk about anything else." I felt that he was smiling at the fact that a young boy like David could look up to him.

"You believe that he sees her and speaks to her?" Barnabas asked, curious to know if I believe in the supernatural.

I was silent for a moment before I responded. "Part of me believes that he's a lonely boy looking for comfort. And there is another part that believes there are things in this world we don't understand. Things like magic, death, and destiny. I guess as long as it makes him happy, what does it matter what anyone else believes?"

We stopped walking for a little bit as I let the information I have given to Barnabas set in as he looked back from the mansion to me. To my surprise, he agreed, saying. "Eloquently put."

We began to walk again as a few things popped into my head that I wanted to ask him. "What is your life like back in England? Do you have any family back at home?" I asked.

He seemed to be in deep thought as he searched around the area. "How shall I put this into words that you can understand?" He mused. "I… did have a family, back when I was young. My father and mother built this town a long time ago. Tragically, my father and mother died a couple years later when I was a young bachelor…"

I immediately felt pity for him as I listened to his words. "What did they die of? Was it disease, old age, or was it something else?" I asked, concerned.

"It was from the curse that the Collins family had been plagued with for a long time… There was a woman I dated back then, and when I didn't give her what she wanted, she made one of our household statues break off of the house and smashed my parents to the ground." Barnabas informed.

"I'm sorry that happened to you…" I comforted him as I rubbed his shoulder with my hand. His own hand slowly came upon mine and held onto it as if he didn't want to let go. "Did that woman you dated back then happened to be Angie?"

He nodded. "She did all of those things to me because I couldn't give her my love. I knew from the moment I dated her that she was nothing but hells messenger… She also made my fiancé, my one true love, to go up onto the cliff," He pointed up towards the cliff that overlooked the beach and when I looked down from where we stood, there were huge rocks that surrounded the bottom of the cliff. "Where she was killed by falling off of the cursed cliff where millions had fallen to their deaths."

I somehow had a strange feeling that I knew that cliff from before, as if it tempted me to jump off of it and let the rocks and the waters crush me. I also had a strange vision where the ghost of Josette went up upon that same cliff where she eventually died.

That information I had recently heard cut through me than a knife would ever dare go to in order to catch my attention. Angie killed his fiancé? Now that would be what I call cold blooded murder. "Why didn't you just tell Angie the truth from the start, that you were not interested in her? That would have saved you a lot of trouble with tragedy." I suggested.

He shook his head. "I have told her lots of times. However, I know that the truth can't work on crazy people." He looked up into the sky, cursing under his breath. "I am probably stuck in that relationship for the rest of my life!"

I decided to quickly change the subject. "Why do you really need to call me Victoria instead of Vicky, wouldn't it be easier for you to call me by my nickname?"

Barnabas turned to look at me and unbeknownst to him, he raised his gloved hand and caressed my cheek by rubbing it back and forth. "The shorter version of your name is not quite acceptable to me as it does with the full version of it. The name "Victoria" is something that I would never get tired of, even if you wanted me to call you "Vicky"."

We stood there in silence as we listened to the roaring waters outside before we decided to get back into the mansion for breakfast.

As we were just about finished with our breakfast, and before I got ready to get to work… I stopped before the window in the living room where I saw the one thing that froze me dead in my tracks; a car with the name of Windcliff Sanitarium was parked outside of the house. And two of the workers had just recently gotten out of the car, I moved myself out of their line of vision before one of them knocked on the door.

Willie walked over to the door as I ran into the next room where Barnabas and Elizabeth were talking about their fishing business and hid right in the closet. Elizabeth noticed me first and called out in a reassuring voice. "Vicky, what's got you spooked?"

She opened the closet door and studied my scared expression; she also reached out to me and pulled me out of my hiding place, "You look like you have just seen a ghost, Vicky. Is something wrong? Did David try to scare you again?"

I shook my head as I shivered from fright as I heard the footsteps coming into the drawing room. I shuddered. "T-They are here for me… Make them go away… I can't take the pain anymore."

Elizabeth and Barnabas looked at me as if they were about to ask me what was wrong before the two men came into the room. Elizabeth turned away from me to attend to what the men would want, while Barnabas walked over to me and embraced me as if he would protect me from the men that would attempt to take me away from my new home.

"Gentlemen," Elizabeth began to speak. "What business do you have at Collinwood?" She had a serious expression written on her face as if to tell them that she means business and crossed her arms in a businesslike manner.

"Ma'am, we have come here to rid you of a crazy person that once escaped our Asylum, and by the reports from a few of the citizens in your town, she is in this very place." The first man said. "We have come to take her back to where she belongs; in the crazy house."

"And who exactly is that person you speak of?" Barnabas guessed while still keeping me in his hold, his ever so welcoming hold which I wanted to keep myself in for the rest of my life.

"The missing person who is now residing in your household is Maggie Evans." The second man told as he turned his attention toward me. He walked over and tried to pull me away from Barnabas, but the man of my dreams refused to let me go. And by the look of it, he didn't get what they were saying as he glared at the man who backed away from him slowly.

Elizabeth broke the ice as she explained. "I am sorry to inform you gentlemen, but we don't have any young lady by the name of Maggie Evans in our home. So, I think that you should be on your way back to wherever you came from and don't return here unless it is absolutely necessary."

"But ma'am, you must understand what chaos that young lady will do if the matter is not solved momentarily!" The first man begged in a calm manner. "By her parents' orders she is not to be released from the Asylum until her talking to the ghost stops at once. She escaped without our knowledge and we are only here to set things right before it is too late."

I shivered in Barnabas' arms as I remembered those same words that the men used to reassure my parents before I was taken away.

Elizabeth looked like she had just about had enough of the men as she walked them out of the door, pulling them on their arms and told. "I am sure that you will find the missing girl if you look hard enough. But, we don't have what you are looking for. Good day, sirs."

Before she fully shut the door on them, one of them asked once more. "At least please let us know that the young lady you have right there is not the same woman we are here to take back to the Asylum where she belongs."

Barnabas scoffed as he tightened his grip on me, but not too tight to which I would have choked. "If you think that Victoria is indeed Maggie Evans as you speak of, then we need the exact evidence that says so."

One of the men handed Elizabeth a picture as Barnabas slowly led me over to take a look at it. The picture was me, but it was when my hair was filthy, my eyes were filled with fear and anguish. Both Barnabas and Elizabeth looked back and forth from the picture to me, wondering what the heck the men thinking.

Elizabeth handed back the picture and sighed in boredom. "My Governess is not who you are looking for. Once again, good day sirs." She closed the door and was satisfied to hear the car starting as she watched them leave the house from the window.

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Elizabeth and Barnabas had successfully told the men that I wasn't Maggie Evans, but Victoria, the nanny. I was still a little bit nervous as I shivered from the fright I had.

"Take deep breathes Victoria, breathe." Barnabas soothed as he released his hold on me. I did exactly as he asked and in the next few seconds, I was calmed down.

"Thank you." I thanked both Elizabeth and Barnabas who gave me soft smiles as they reassured me that they wouldn't let anything happen to me.

Our little moment came to a halt when Willie entered into the room, telling Barnabas that he received a letter from Angelbay that their business provider wants to have a meeting with him.

Barnabas growled as Elizabeth went back to where they started on their business, discussing about what to do on the meeting that he was to attend. "You know, Barnabas, maybe Angie is tired of competing with you for the fishing business and is ready to give you that 'former glory' back." Elizabeth reassured as she noticed that his growling stopped altogether.

I quietly escorted myself out of the room in order to give them privacy on their meeting. I then walked over to David's room to see if he has found out anything about contacting his mom.

I knocked first to let him know that I am here. "Come in, Vicky." He called from inside of the room. I opened the door and walked over to where he was waiting on his bed. "I am glad you are here, Vicky. I was just about to come and find you before you showed up."

He gestured for me to sit right beside him on the bed and I obeyed. "Have you made any contact with your mother?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes. I told her exactly what you wanted to talk about and she agrees to answer some of your questions. But, I should tell you something important, Vicky. My mom wants to talk with you _alone_ in order to answer your questions. She won't even tell me why, but I respect her decision because it must be something private that only she knows and for you to figure out."

I nodded, understanding the conditions that the young boy had told me. "Would there be any signs that tell me she is here?"

"Actually, she already is here." David mentioned as he looked around the room before going toward the door and opened it. He turned back to me. "I will leave you two alone so that you two can get some privacy." He went outside of his room and closed the door gently.

I began to sense his mothers presence in the room as I looked around before I laid my eyes on a ghostly woman with dark hair who was looking down at me. She was leaning on the wall before she turned to me and sat right beside me on the bed. Her hair floated, much like how Josette's ghost did as I kept myself calm, trying to not let this meeting scare me to death.

The ghost spoke. "You are my son's new nanny, right?" Her voice was very soft and serene. I nodded to tell her 'yes', and she continued. "I have heard from him that you are curious about Josette's ghost, so let's not waste time with introductions. Ask away... Maggie."

I jumped in surprise when she used my real name, but I ignored it and asked my first question. "Why is Josette haunting me? Did I do something to her that made her want to haunt me?"

The ghost of Laura Collins smiled. "It is simply because she is trying to get back into the world you live in by merging with your body to get her life back." I. could. not. believe what I was hearing as my mouth almost threatened to drop open.

"What?" I asked, confused by what she was explaining.

The late Laura Collins noticed my confusion and explained slower. "Let me explain from the beginning. You have read in the family tree history about who exactly Josette is, right? And you have read about her unfortunate death at the hands of a witch's curse... There is more to her death than what the scholars and relatives said." She took a deep breath before she began to tell me why Josette was here in the first place.

"The second she died after she fell off of the cliff, Josette knew that the ancient witch Angelique was trying to get rid of her in order to have her fiance all to herself, so once when her spirit left the corpse that was lying on the rocks and being drenched by the waves that came by, she made her vow to wait for her grieved fiance in heaven so that in case he got killed by the same witch he would follow her and be together for the rest of their lives.

But, she didn't expect for fate to be cruel to both her and her husband-to-be. After his failed attempt to commit suicide and join his beloved in death, Angelique cursed him to a life that is worse than death; to be cursed as a vampire. Then he was locked up in the coffin by the very villagers who followed him and his family, and as the witch looked on in satisfaction that she won in getting him to feel the loneliness she felt when he dumped her, she thought that Barnabas would be over Josette and to love her instead, as they did once before.

For Josette, she couldn't be able to go to the afterlife... Because after crashing into the earth that claimed her life, her soul split into two halves. The first half had remained in the mansion reenacting her death from the first day she died, and the other half was reborn into another life. This delicate soul didn't know about her past life, but it doesn't change the fact that she felt that she was missing something important.

When the young girl matured to the age of ten, Josette's ghost then left the mansion in hopes that she found her other half, to which she successfully found that girl... and she happens to be you, Maggie."

She stopped in order to let the information sink in as I stared at her in bewilderment and shock. I suddenly spoke out in disbelief. "You are saying that I am the ghosts missing half? That's the reason that she couldn't go to the afterlife, is because she wants to merge with me to have her life back?" I then shrugged. "But, I don't understand why she wants to return to the living when she should be going to the afterlife."

Laura could sense my discomfort as she laid her ghostly hand on mine and reassured. "She thought about going into the afterlife before she figured that she had a reincarnation that can take her place. Maggie... you are Josette's other half, yes. But, you are her in another life. And do not fear that when you two finally figure out how to merge and become one, you will not have to say good-bye to your old life as Victoria if you want to..."

I stuttered. "B-But, you did say that I was Josette in the past life..."

She nodded. "Yes, I did. However, you can relax Maggie, for I assure you that you are technically and mentally not Josette yet. Right now, you are more Victoria Winters than Josette DuPres. Once when you two finally merge as one soul, you can either call yourself Victoria, or Josette, whichever you prefer when the time comes." She disappeared from the room, leaving me to think about what she had told me.

Nighttime came quickly as I paced in my room thinking through the information that Laura Collins gave me. At first I thought that me being a reincarnation of Josette was ridiculous, but there was that part of me that told me that this was no laughing matter, and that it was the real deal. I clasped my hands onto my head as I laid down on my bed to try to get some sleep.

I sometimes had those nightmares about me being dragged back to the Insane Asylum and that the Collins family who took me in just watched as I was being pulled back into the one place where I was nothing but a crazy person. Elizabeth and Roger just stared at me in disgust, Julia muttered how she knew that I had held that secret for a long time, David and Carolyn looked on in shock and fear as they watched me go, and Barnabas... he shook his head and looked away from me as if I never existed in the first place.

I moved around in the bed as I tried to escape the nightmare that was shown to me. But, when it got the better of me too far, I sprang out of the bed and breathed heavily in pants. I looked over to see the ghost of Josette staring at me from the hallway as she called out to me, "_Help me."_ She later floated out of my sight, beckoning me to follow her, so I did, all the way back to the same chandelier that she reenacting her death on.

She called out once more. "_Help me."_ I knew that what Laura Collins said might have been true, but I somehow wanted to know from the main ghost herself if what she wanted was true. If she wanted to merge with me, or get back to the living with my help, what would happen to me when she comes back to the world of the living? Would my soul be displaced once she returns to the living? Would we just be sharing two souls in one body?

"Help you what?" I asked softly, knowing full well of what she wants. I thought to myself that if she wanted to get back to the living, why didn't she just do it when I was still Maggie Evans? But I figured out the solution with Laura Collins' help that she didn't want to get back to the world of the living by possessing a kid that is not quite ready for anything of the sort, so then it meant that sooner or later, I would merge my soul with Josette, but how am I suppose to do it when I have no idea how to do it?

After when Josette disappeared in the same fashion she did the last time I saw her, I rushed back to my bedroom and got myself some shuteye for the next morning.

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_Author's Note: Review whenever you want and I will work on the next chapter._


	6. The Kiss

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the added in text that the movie didn't provide.

_Here is the biggest moment of the story, where Victoria kisses Barnabas! I absolutely loved this scene where she managed to open up to him about her past life as Maggie Evans and then he accepts her for who she is, even if it is with taking to ghosts._

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Chapter 6- The Kiss

The next morning was interesting when I came down for breakfast with the family because we are entering the next step to become the famous family again, and as what Barnabas III had said, he wanted to raise our popularity up by hosting a ball.

"A what?" Elizabeth asked, confused by what Barnabas had said.

"A ball." Barnabas repeated. "And a most splendid one."

"A ball for who?" Elizabeth asked once more as she read the newspaper about the recent events that were happening in town lately.

"For the entire town, of course." Barnabas answered with pride.

Carolyn interrupted. "Don't you know the entire town kind of hates us?"

Barnabas turned to her and explained. "Balls are demonstrations of power. Balls are how the ruling class remains the ruling class."

Roger agreed as he spoke up. "Exactly what I've been saying. This family could use some balls."

Barnabas turned to him in a pleased gesture. "Indeed. And the Collins family has always held the biggest and most wonderful balls."

When Julia came into the room she yelled. "Can somebody shut the drapes?" She raised her hand to block out the sun from her face as best as she could. When Willie shut them, Julia placed her hand down and took a seat right by David. Barnabas looked at her suspiciously as if he was trying to figure out why she suddenly hates the rays of the sun.

Roger kept the conversation going as he said. "You know, Barnabas has a point. It's about time we threw a little dough around. Hm? Show the peasants that we're back in action."

As I ate some of my fruit that is on my plate, I heard Carolyn speaking out in her usual bored yet amused voice. "People don't throw balls anymore, stupid."

"Do they not?" Barnabas asked her; curious to know what she is thinking.

"They throw happenings." Carolyn told as she looked at Barnabas straight in his eyes.

He seemed intrigued by the new information Carolyn was telling him as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "And how, pray, does one throw a happening?"

"Well," Carolyn began. "first things first, you'll need a mirror ball."

"Whatever that is, we shall have it." Barnabas proclaimed in a determined voice.

"And booze, lots of booze." Carolyn added.

"Carolyn." Elizabeth warned in a tired voice.

"We shall have spirits enough to fill a schooner's hull." Barnabas added as he waited to see if Carolyn had any other ideas for the party that he will be planning.

"And," Carolyn trailed off before she looked down on a poster that showed a face of a man with a snake wrapping around him. "Alice Cooper."

I heard Roger scoffing to himself as if he thought the young girl was taking things too far, yet he wanted to see if Barnabas was up for it.

I smiled to myself to keep myself from blushing when I looked toward Barnabas' direction as he recalled something from his childhood. "I seem to recall an Alice Cooper from my youth. Does she reside in Collinsport?" I almost let a chuckle escape from my mouth when he said that.

"Not exactly." Carolyn answered, twirling her fork on the fruit.

Barnabas then spoke, seeming pleased with the new information. "Well, she shall be our guest nonetheless."

That was when I laid my head on the table, trying to keep myself from laughing. The whole family probably saw the hilarious scene I was making as my chest heaved back and forth from laughter. "What is wrong with Victoria?" Barnabas asked, concerned.

"I think you probably have given her something to laugh about…" Carolyn mentioned as she watched me trying to control my laughter.

"Whatever is so funny about having Alice Cooper being an honored guest for the happening?" Barnabas asked, confused by the situation that I was in.

I wondered if I should tell him that Alice Cooper is a male and not a female, but I just wanted to wait and see what he thinks when the party comes up. Carolyn once showed me the poster of Alice Cooper, and I could not believe that Barnabas thought that Alice Cooper was a woman. It just made me laugh my head off!

However, the planning was just getting started as Barnabas and Elizabeth went to work on calling in our entertainment, collecting the drinks, and decorating the house for the happening that was coming up. As soon as we got things settled at the house, we immediately worked on sending out the invitations to invite the citizens of Collinsport to come and enjoy the celebration.

Elizabeth was downstairs in the living room chatting with the guests, and Julia was sitting in one of the tables moving in rhythm with the music, David and Roger were nowhere to be seen in the living room, so I suspected that they were talking with somebody in private, Willie and Ms. Johnson didn't feel like dancing, so they decided to remain seated in their seats and read and drink.

As Alice Cooper did his usual tunes for music, I stayed for a little bit before I decided to go to the balcony to breathe some fresh air. I needed to think through my thoughts on how I am suppose to control my growing feelings for Barnabas III.

Over the weeks I stayed at Collinwood, I had finally thought about asking Barnabas if he is interested in pursuing a relationship with me. I wasn't sure if he was interested in me still or not, but if he came by, I want to be sure that he really was interested in me. Or could it mean that he only likes me because of my birthing hips? I may never know until I hear it from him...

I also thought about what might be going on back at my old home in New York, where my parents were. I almost felt guilty by leaving them wondering what happened to their one and only daughter. Could they be wondering where I am now? Or did they already forget about me as if I was just apart of their hallucinations? I somehow hoped that they wouldn't worry about me too much, and of course they don't have to worry about their daughter who can see and talk to ghosts.

Another thought came into my head as I thought back on what Carolyn said. '_He has the hots for you, big_ _time!' _So, I guess that means that I shouldn't worry about if Barnabas changed his thoughts about me or not, because nothing could change his feelings for me... Not even Angie could change that, though she tries, she probably will never keep me and Barnabas away from each other.

I began to think about what would happen if Barnabas and I got married after the party was done. I could hardly imagine how the wedding would be like, but I think it might be extravagant! I would probably get the most beautiful dress, along with David being my ring bearer, Carolyn my flower girl, but I think that she would not like that... Elizabeth, Julia, and Roger would watch as I walked down the aisle toward my new husband who is eagerly waiting for me to exchange the vows.

I shook my head. '_That is just fantasy, Vicky. It probably won't be like what you wanted.'_ I thought to myself as I stared at the night sky.

My peaceful night was cut short when my ears recognized the cane sound coming toward the balcony. "Whatever are you doing outside, my dear?" Barnabas' voice asked as he stood right beside me, watching me to figure out why was I out here. "You'll catch your death of cold."

I breathed out a sigh. "I've caught the only thing that matters, Barnabas. Your eye." I waited for a moment to see what he would be doing, to my surprise, he looked a bit hesitant. "I have withheld my tender affections, fearful that they are unrequited." He confessed softly without looking at me. "I have not spoken of my feelings to another soul."

I smiled softly, refusing to giggle. "Right. You only spoke of my birthing hips." I knew I got him cornered as he became silent for a moment before he responded awkwardly, "Yes. Well..."

I changed the subject, just so that he didn't feel embarrassed that I knew his secret that he told Carolyn about. "How do you like Alice Cooper?"

His response was, "Ugliest woman I had ever seen." As I suspected, his strange humor made me laugh again. "May I ask what is so funny about that?"

I laughed, "It's because Alice Cooper is a _male, _not a female_." _I answered. I earned a shocked expression from Barnabas as he jumped in surprise and muttered under his breath, "I'm glad I am not in a relationship with men." He then shivered out of fright, now that he knew the truth.

I silently turned my head to face him, wondering if he would be ready to know the truth about me, as I mused. "I don't know why, but for some reason, I feel like I can tell you anything. It's like I've known you forever."

My sentence caught his attention as he quickly whispered in agreement, "Yes."

I finished it, saying. "It's almost... Hypnotic." I couldn't help but stare into his dark eyes which showed me kindness and pride as he was trying to find the words to comment on.

He slipped on his words before he corrected it. "Yes. But, wait, no. I have used no such trickery to summon your ardor, I assure you."

"I don't know what it is. I just know that there's always been something pulling me here. Pulling me to Collinsport... and to you." I said as we stood on the balcony looking at each other, holding our gazes.

I almost fainted out of excitement at what Barnabas tried to do next. As if by instinct, he looked like he was slowly leaning in to kiss me. I moved away before his face got too close. He seemed to have seen my hesitation into letting him give his kiss to me as he placed his hand right by his nose as if he smelled something awful in his life.

"Oh, my dear Victoria," He shuddered from embarrassment. "Hath my scent offended thee?" Really, he thought that there was something wrong with him? I decided that this was a good time to explain myself before he had any thoughts about my behavior or such.

"No. No." I reassured him. "There is nothing wrong with you, Barnabas. I'm sorry. It's just..." I gathered up my courage as I took a deep breath. "The people I loved haven't always loved me back."

He sighed in relief when I told him that he was safe from harm as I asked. "Do you remember the men that tried to take me back to the Insane Asylum?" Upon a nod from him, I continued. "They really were looking for me because I was a crazy person that needed to see the light on the situation, instead of seeing the light, I only saw darkness whenever I was there.

My own family sent me away to that place. Swept me under the rug because it was easier than having a daughter who was different, who was... cursed. Cursed because I saw things that other little girls didn't. Throughout my time at the Asylum, it was the loneliest, most painful years a child could know.

As hard as they were, I never lost my will. My will to fight back, will to show them that I can be better than what they think, the will to feel the sun on my face again. So I escaped from that place and decided to set out in search of a new home, a new life that is far away from that pain.

But even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd feel as happy as I do now." I tried to smile as I waited for Barnabas' response, to see if he is still willing to stay in the relationship that we are beginning to have. He looked serious after when I told him the truth about me, but his voice was full of reassurance, and pity for me.

He said. "To betray one's own kin, and because she possesses a gift," He shook his head quickly before continuing. "No. Victoria. It is unforgivable. And your parents deserve to boil in hell's everlasting sulfur." I could not believe what he had just said as I gasped softly.

"So this means that, you don't think that I am a... crazy person?" I asked, nervous.

He shook his head as he smiled. "You are not a crazy person, Victoria. To your parents, and those men who tortured you in the Asylum, you might be, but to me and the Collins family, you are a unique person with wisdom beyond your years. And that... is what I like about you." His pale hand reached up to touch my cheek, caressing it as I relaxed in his touch.

"For most of my life, I have wanted a place where I belonged. A place where I could feel at home again. Feel loved again. And I have found that place here at Collinwood." I stopped for a moment to catch my breath as he stared at me. I somehow felt the urge to walk into his arms and let him hold me for a long time, never to let me go. I also felt my heart beating faster than before as I began to softly blush before I did the one thing that changed my life and his forever... "And here." I finished as I closed the distance between us, quickly kissing his lips.

His lips felt cold, icy, yet it was warm all the same as I locked my lips with his. Barnabas, at first, was hesitant when I kissed him before I felt his left hand gently grabbing my hair, caressing it as he returned the kiss, curling his lips upwards as he started to kiss me back. I moved my left hand up to his cheek, savoring the taste of his lips on mine. Strangely enough, his lips almost tasted like blood, while mine was of strawberries.

He moaned from pleasure. "Your making me feel alive again, Victoria."

I sighed while trying to get some air from our intense kissing. "I can say the same with what you are doing to me, Barnabas." I rested my head against his chest as I held onto him, looking at the party that was going on in the mansion.

He asked softly, "Shall we go dance, my love?"

I jumped up in surprise before I protested. "I-I can't dance, Barnabas. I never learned how."

He looked at me and chuckled, "Dancing will be easy for you, Victoria. All you have to do is follow my rhythm and see where it goes." He grabbed my hands and pulled me into the dance floor with him.

Once he pulled me onto the dance floor, Barnabas gently grabbed my waist with his right hand while the other was holding my hand. He started to move to the rhythm of the slow music that began to play in the mansion. I tried to move my legs along with his as I got more used to the way we were moving on the dance floor.

I looked up to the second floor to see the ghost of Josette smiling down at me as if she was pleased with my progress. She began to move down toward me and started to mimic the moves I am doing with Barnabas, and once she did that, I felt as if a part of me is almost complete. That was when I realized that she was trying to merge with me as I danced with the man of my dreams.

Strangely enough, when I looked into Barnabas' dark eyes, the sounds of the party, the chatting, the music, faded as if we were the only ones in the room dancing. I looked over his shoulder to see the one woman who told me to stay away from him; Angie.

I shivered from fright when she looked at me with a glare that seemed to strike me to the core. She wasn't happy with the way things are with me and Barnabas. But then she turned around and left the party, never to be seen again.

I sighed in relief as I rested my head on Barnabas' shoulder, letting him lead the dance as I held on to him. I close my eyes, letting the music put me to sleep.

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_Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review whenever you want and I will work on the next chapter._


	7. The Secret

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the movie, but I do own the added in text that the movie missed out on.

_I was deeply hurt by the fact that Victoria ran away from Barnabas after she discovered that he was a vampire, so I tried to detail the event as best as I could. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

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Chapter 7- The Secret

I woke up in my room and realized that I slept through the night when I was at the party. I also realized that Barnabas probably brought me to bed, since I was last seen with him dancing the night away. I could also tell that it was 3:30 P.M. in the afternoon since I slept through most of the morning.

I sighed in a mood that told me I was in love with him. Now I could probably see me being David's supposed 'aunt', along with me being a Collins with my new family.

Victoria Collins, I liked the sound of that as I searched around the room for my clothes. I decided on a small pale blue dress as I got myself ready for the day ahead, plus I also planned on writing down a list with my plans on the wedding that might come up for me and Barnabas.

I wrote a few notes about what I might need for the wedding, along with some ideas for what to eat, and what to wear on my wedding day. I silently decided to also have Barnabas help me out on what he thinks about the wedding so I have left some room on the paper for him to show his ideas when I see him.

I heard knocking on my bedroom door as I quickly hid the note in my dresser and opened it. "Carolyn, what do you need?" I asked as I noticed that Carolyn was right in front of me.

"You should come down and do your best to comfort my cousin." Carolyn said, "His father is planning on leaving Collinwood."

I gasped in shock when I heard that information. David's father, Roger, is leaving? "Why would he be leaving the mansion?" I asked.

Carolyn informed. "Barnabas caught him trying to steal the riches that we are protecting. I guess that my Uncle Roger was only thinking about how rich he would be when he finds all that money, gold, and treasures that he never dreamed of finding. Barnabas caught him before he even opened the secret passageway. And if you are wondering why he is leaving David, I heard from Barnabas that Uncle Roger was not being a good father that David desperately wants."

She grabbed my hand and ran toward the living room where the event was taking place. As Carolyn told me to go downstairs and comfort David, I watched as Roger bid him farewell as he took his bags and left the mansion in a taxi that would take him to who knows where.

I clasped my hands as I noticed the young boy shedding a tear on his cheek. How could Roger do such a thing to a child like him? First he lost his mother to the sea, and now his father was just going to leave him… That. Is. Inexcusable!

"Where on earth is Dr. Hoffman when we need her?" I heard Elizabeth whispering in sorrow for her nephew.

"Indeed." Barnabas agreed softly as they watched the taxi leave. He and I then noticed in the next second that David was crying and running right to me. I almost feel tears coming into my eyes as I was just about ready to comfort the child, but, something else caught me off guard.

Without warning, David accidently pushed the edge of the ladder where Willie was taking down the Disco ball, and it suddenly took him by surprise as the ball was falling down. Right toward David…

"David, Get out of there!" I shouted on top of my lungs as I ran to where he was, determined to save his life. He just stood there and watched as the ball was coming down in supersonic speed.

However, in the next second, David was not under the ball anymore as the ball crashed into the ground, he instead was on another spot of the room, and Barnabas had quickly saved him.

But I was worried for him because he was standing in the sun. Barnabas let's go of David, not seeing the smoke that came up on his shoulders. Elizabeth gasped in relief as soon as she saw that David was safe.

…Why is there smoke on Barnabas' shoulder? I quickly walked down to see what was happening as I looked closely at the scene that was coming up. He kept looking around the room as if wondering what has gotten us frightened, not noticing the flame that was forming on his shoulder. Another flame came up on his other shoulder as he tried to sniff out the source of the smoke.

Elizabeth broke the silence as she turned her attention toward Barnabas III. "Barnabas, you're on fire."

I turned to her as I was about to ask what is happening to him. A person shouldn't be on fire when they go into the sun… Only supernatural creatures could do that. And why is Barnabas not screaming for help when the flames are trying to consume his clothing? I silently kept my mouth shut as I finally realized what Barnabas III really is…

It explains why his lips tasted like fresh blood on the night that I kissed him, on the times where he managed to find help when at first they refused to do anything he said when they were loyal to Angie, and to why he looked so much like the picture of Barnabas Collins the first.

Because he is _the _Barnabas Collins, there was no Barnabas Collins III. And he is also the fiancé of the ghost that haunted me; Josette.

Willie found a bucket of water and soaked Barnabas with it, taking out the flames that attempted to burn him. David, after realizing what his 'Uncle Barnabas' really was, fled from the scene. Elizabeth sighed in sorrow as she knew that her secret was out.

That she was hiding… a vampire.

She immediately rushed to where David ran off to as she left me and Barnabas alone in the living room.

I was scared, scared of what he might do when his attention turned to me. His eyes, though I suspected them to try to tell me that he was going to kill me like how other vampires did in the movies, they were instead full of sorrow and regret as they tried to tell me that he doesn't want to hurt me.

He walked a few steps toward me as he got out of the sun rays; his shadow covered me as I tried to command my body to get myself out of here. But, I felt that Josette's presence was keeping my body locked in the spot where I stood as I stared at the vampire that is my beloved.

He reached out his hand as if to touch me, but I didn't let him as I got out of my trance and began to do the one act I would never forgive myself on.

I ran.

I ran away from him, all the way to the drawing room where I collapsed on the floor on my knees and cried my eyes out.

I was in love with a vampire! And I never knew about it until now!

I could see Josette's ghost looking down on me, from sorrow as she said nothing. "You ruined my childhood, and now you are ruining my future by just having me make love to your husband!" I got myself to stand up and looked into her ghostly eyes in anger.

I continued. "This was all your fault from the start! If you had just gone back into the afterlife, none of this mess would have happened! I would never have been sent to that Insane Asylum! I never would have to say good-bye to my parents! And I would never have to see you again! Why are you doing this to me?" I broke down again as I looked down on the ground, refusing to meet her gaze.

"_Because we can't let Angelique win_." She answered. "_She wanted me out of her way to have Barnabas all to herself; however, she doesn't realize that we can play this game of hers, and then she will lose."_

Her ghostly hand grabbed my chin and gently pulled it up to meet her gaze. I tried to control my sobbing as I waited to see what she wanted. "_Once Angelique is killed, you and I can finally be one person. But, I am afraid that she will not let that happen. She has already placed a spell on you to fall off of the same cliff where I died._

_So, I am asking you to __**not**__ go outside to where the hill is. Do you understand me, Maggie?" _I nodded, telling her that I completely understood her. "_Just wait until Barnabas comes to retrieve you."_

She noticed my hesitation n into forgiving Barnabas for lying to me about his vampire ability, so she added. "_I know what he did was terrible. He maybe is a vampire, Maggie, but he is still a brave, confident and strong man that his family ever had, he is still the man that you and I love. He still loves you, Maggie."_

I choked back a sob as I tried to talk. "I don't think he loves me anymore since I couldn't accept his nature as a vampire-" My conversation was cut short as I heard an explosion from outside of the mansion.

I rushed over to the window and gasped in horror as I covered my mouth to keep from screaming. Somebody, or something, had destroyed the family fishing business as it exploded from downtown. The flames had engulfed parts of the building as the fire trucks were on their way to put them out.

I immediately wanted to go over to where Elizabeth was, but I stopped myself right before I was going to open the door when I heard something in my head, but it was not Josette who was speaking to me…

"_**If he doth another choose**_

_**To lend his heart an eye**_

_**Then magic shall the slighted use**_

_**So all he loves will die**_**." **The voice, I recognized was Angie.

I looked up to see that she was standing behind me, smiling devilishly as if she already won. I suspected that she really wasn't in the room and as I looked closer, the Angie I am seeing is actually a vision from my mind.

I moved my hand away from the door and turned to her, trying to show that I am not scared of her. "What did you say?" I asked, curious.

"I am saying time to say good-bye to your fake family, Josette, and to kill you," The Angie illusion said as she studied me. "I told you to stay away from my beloved Barnabas, but you had to get in the way of my plan. Well, I have had enough of you, so I am going to kill you."

I boldly stood my ground. "Haven't you taken the hint already? Barnabas doesn't want anything to deal with you. You killed his parents, Josette, and now you expect me to let you have him to yourself? Hah! If you plan on killing me here, Angie, he will never forgive you for that!"

Her smile changed into a frown while she glared at me. "And I don't care if he hates me for more than a thousand years. I love him, and he loves me, even though he fails to admit it… and you, _Josette Reincarnate_, are history when my curse is done with you!"

"So you are just going to kill me right here?" I asked, tauntingly as I narrowed my eyes in determination.

She cocked her head and laughed evilly. "At first, I was planning on killing you by keeping you in that Insane Asylum where you were last time before you escaped to Collinsport. You were supposed to die from electroshock on those treatments, yet you remained to be the pesky bug that refuses to be squashed. Instead, I will have you commit suicide by falling off of Widow's Hill."

I looked at her in disbelief before I slowly responded. "You wanted me dead at the Insane Asylum? I never saw you over there."

She shook her head. "I never left Collinsport, yet I can still keep track with what is going on around me. Most importantly you and your incarnate. I devised a spell which made your parents think that you are a crazy person ever since you encountered Josette's ghost. My plan worked when those men dragged you away to that place where it is supposed to be your grave, yet I never expected you to escape my grasp when you got out. Once when I am done with you and the Collins family, I will be sure that you fall off of the cliff and to be sure that you stay dead, never to return to the earth again." Her illusion vanished as I regained my senses.

Colors of red and blue showered the window as I noticed that the police cars were surrounding the mansion. I also heard gunshots from outside as I watched Barnabas, who was clasping onto the real Angie's neck. He had a few gunshot wounds on his back, scaring the citizens who were trying to arrest him and the family.

Then in the next second, I saw that Angie shoved Barnabas off of her as her strength pushed him through the door. The woman's skin began to crack as if she was a living fragile object.

Ignoring the panicked expressions from the citizens that were fleeing the area, I opened the door quickly and rushed to the hallway. I heard loud voices from the living room, but I was too scared to listen to what they were saying, so I continued to try to find another way of escaping as I ran through the hall.

My progress came to a halt when one of the antique souvenirs exploded, and a crack traveled all the way to the floor, damaging the newly fixed mansion. I felt a little bit warm as I turned around to see flames all over the walls. And when my attention turned to the pictures, I almost gaged when I saw the blood that is traveling down the pictures.

I had to get out of the mansion before I might be crushed alive, burned alive, or murdered if I ever bump into Angie again as I ran through another door that led to the backyard.

Against Josette's wishes, I went outside, close to the forest that led to Widow's Hill.

And that was when the curse took over…

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_Author's Note: One more chapter to go and then we are done! I hope I explained this part of the chapter really well... Review whenever you feel like it and if I have any mistakes, please tell me so that I can re-enhance it for your amusement._


	8. The Bite

Josette Reborn

By: Lovely girl 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the added in text that the movie skipped out on.

_Here is the final chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this story!_

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Chapter 8- The Bite

The wind blew through my hair as my body, which was under the possession of the curse that Angie placed upon me, walked up to where the cliff would be. I tried to command my body to not obey what Angie was doing, but the pull of the curse was just too strong.

As my footsteps led me closer to my death, I kept wanting to turn back to the mansion that was burning to the ground. Even the collapsing walls that fell down toward the ground was enough to make me try to keep the curse at bay, long enough for the Collins family to notice that I was missing. I demanded in my mind to grab the tree branches with my hands and keep it locked until somebody would come to help me out.

It was no use when my hands slipped over the branches and continued on as if the branches weren't there at all. "Ah crap." I cursed as I tried to slow down the pace of my walk, trying to remain in control over my actions.

I could hear the roaring waters as I noticed that I was getting close to the cliff. I looked down to where the sharp rocks were, along with the raging waters that soaked them. I could feel that the curse was urging me to jump off and let the fall end my life here and there, but... I wasn't ready yet.

'_At least please let me say my proper good-byes.'_ I thought to myself as I tried to let the tears show on my face, yet the curse is masking it as if I never felt sadness at all.

'_Elizabeth Collins. You had showed me so much kindness and treated me like I was your friend. I am sorry to not let you know who I really am, but you wouldn't have accepted me if I told you. I should also thank you for giving me the information about the ghost that haunted me since childhood._

_Carolyn, even though I don't understand what you are going through, I want to be sure that you and your mother are getting along just like how a normal mother and daughter relationship should go. If I don't survive this curse, take good care of your family._

_David, I don't think you would be able to get an 'aunt' like how you wanted from me. I am so sorry that I couldn't help you cope with losing your father, but please be strong for your family. Do not let others opinions get to you when they say you are crazy, you have a gift that others refuse to see, so use it wisely._

_Barnabas... Forgive me for running off on you when your secret was out. If only I could see you again one last time, I would tell you how much I love you, but with the curse controlling my movements, I am afraid that we can't be together. Make sure Angie gets what she deserves for me, okay?'_

A tear rolled down my cheek as I finished my good-byes. I felt my feet beginning to go up toward the end of the cliff before I felt a familiar presence behind me, to which I was hoping that it wasn't Angie who was finished with destroying the mansion. Instead, I felt the familiar pale hands with long fingernails grab my shoulders and turned me around quickly for me to see the person who pulled me out of the trance; Barnabas Collins.

Fear entered into my mind again as I tried to figure out why was he here. Did he escape from the battle that was raging at the mansion? Did he come here to save me from my curse? At the same time, I felt relieved to see that he was here for me, because I probably have some explaining to do. The tears freely flow down my cheeks as Barnabas embraced me.

"What happened back at the mansion?" I asked, shivering from the cold wind as I tried to keep my body locked with his to get some warmth.

He answered. "Angie is dead. She will not bother us again. Unfortunately, the mansion will have to be rebuilt. Elizabeth, Master David, and Carolyn are alright, so you don't need to worry about them."

I sighed in relief when I heard that information. The family was safe from harm. And Angie is dead, but... what about the curse? I can still feel its dark magic trying to make me fall off of the cliff, and here I thought that I would be safe too, but fate is becoming cruel to me.

At least Barnabas was keeping my body from finishing the curse for a little bit as I try to relax in his touch. "I thought I lost you." He murmured in a soft voice as he kept his hold on me.

I took a breath as I said the very words that threatened to turn him away from me. "You have lost me." I had felt awful saying that to him, but either one of us had to say that this relationship isn't right.

He muttered a 'what?' before he releases me from his hold, looking at me straight in the eyes as if he thought that I was joking. I explained sadly, "Our relationship can't work out like this, Barnabas. I live in the light, and you live in the shadows. I will grow old and die, while you live forever."

I could tell that he wasn't convinced as he shook his head in dismay. "We will find a way, my love."

I looked at him, trying to give a serious face as the curse tried to mask my feelings again. "There is only one way." The only way, I figured, for us to be together, was for him to bite me in the neck and turn me into a vampire like him. I knew that it was either become a vampire or die from the cliff where Josette died from before, and to be honest... I would rather suffer being a vampire than to wander around the earth as a ghost.

Barnabas' eyes widened in realization as he figured out what I wanted him to do. "No. I will not see you suffer as I do. Never." He kept looking into my eyes in sorrow as I knew full well of what I might be losing if I turn into a vampire and spend eternity with him.

One: I will not feel the sun on my face again.

Two: I will probably have to drink blood instead of eating the other foods I was use to.

Aside from being refused to have eternity with him, I smiled softly as I stared into his dark eyes, before I felt gravity taking me as I fell from the cliff, much like how Josette did before she died.

"No!" Barnabas cried out in shock and horror as he tried to grab my hands, but it was to no avail as he hastily walked over to the cliff and fell in the same fashion as I did.

As we both fell, the last thing I heard was the water that roared from below, the last thing I saw was Barnabas gaining speed to catch me and take me into his arms, and the last thing I felt was the mysterious pain that coursed through my neck, that was when I realized that my life was fading away.

And that I had failed to give Josette what she wanted most; to merge with me.

Angie had won. And Josette lost.

But... after when Barnabas and I crashed onto the earth that stopped our fall, I didn't feel any pain at all. Almost as if there was some type of shield protecting me from the impact.

I later realized that I didn't get hurt from the impact. _Josette_ did.

I knew that she took the blow for me when she and I were both laying on the ground, I was safe from harm, but she took the damage for me. I was about to ask her why she did what she did, but she interrupted my thoughts. "_You are needed here, Maggie. Go and live your new eternal life as a vampire."_

I noticed that me and Josette were in a dark room. The waters, the rocks, and the whole scenery had disappeared in front of my eyes. Only me and Josette were present. And when she told me to go back to the world of the living, I was almost about to protest that I can't go back because I am dead. However, she moved her ghostly hand over to my neck, revealing that I have two small holes on it, she then moved her hand away and showed me that she also has them too.

"What will happen to me, Josette? Will my soul be displaced? Will we connect like how you wanted, for us to be merged together?" I asked in the darkness.

In the next second, I wasn't looking at Josette anymore, I was looking at myself, but the ghostly eyes told me that Josette switched her looks for the more modern version of herself; me. "_You will not be displaced, Maggie. We are two pieces of the same puzzle that need to be together as one person. After when I died on the cliff, I never realized that my soul was split into two. Now when you wake up, Maggie, we will be complete. However, my memories, my name, and my personality will be passed on to you."_

As she said this, I saw that she was beginning to fade from my vision. I now knew what she was going to do; she stepped through me and stopped to where I stood, completely merging her soul with mine.

I took a deep breath as the room I envisioned for my meeting with Josette disappeared. The place I stood at the moment was the bottom of the cliff where my body fell. Ignoring the water that splashed his face, Barnabas got up as he examined my body, which was face-down on the ground. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around so that his right arm held my back and his other hand was moving the hair out of my face.

He looked down to where he bit me, spooked by what he did as he looked at my corpse. The bite marks left a little trail of blood that he didn't catch, along with a trail of blood that came from his mouth. "Ah, Victoria." He whispered in sorrow. "My sweet Victoria." When he was done moving my wet hair aside, he buried his face into my chest, beginning to weep. Did he think that his bite didn't work on me? He thought that I was already dead?

I knew he was in for a big surprise as I merged my soul back with my body, I could feel that something about me was different when I connected with my body again. My fingernails grew, my body turned pale as a ghost, my teeth grew fangs, and my senses were beginning to be twice as powerful than when I was a human.

Barnabas must have sensed the change too as he lifted up his head to look at my face, calling in confusion, "Victoria." I finally had the urge to open my eyes as I took in the new surroundings that I wasn't accustomed to from before. My vision was twice as powerful than before as I got used to see through the darkness.

To Barnabas, who was looking down on me, I renamed myself once more. "My name is now Josette. Josette Reborn, to be exact." He looked at me as if I had gone insane, but he still managed to keep his hold on me.

"What are you talking about, Victoria? You and I both know that you are not my deceased fiance." He said with an eyebrow raised up before he embraced me. "I am so glad that you are okay."

"Your old fiance and I are one and the same, Barnabas. It explains how she and I have the same features, and same personality. When I was unconscious, Josette broke my fall and merged her soul with mine, giving you the chance to turn me into a vampire." I explained. "While I maybe am Josette Reincarnated, I am still Victoria by heart. I am still your Victoria." I moved my hand up to his cheek and caressed it, cleaning up some of the blood.

He moved his hand and touched my cheek softly, his fingernails tickled as I tried to say something to him to let him know that I haven't changed, but there was no need for words when he pulled me close to his face, kissing me passionately.

"Can we go and search for the rest of our family?" I asked as we broke away from our intense kissing. Instead of speaking, Barnabas wrapped his arms around my legs and my back, carrying me bridal style as he managed to get out of the water that was making a mess with our clothing and such.

As it turns out, Elizabeth, Carolyn, David, and Ms. Johnson and Willie were waiting for me and Barnabas right by where the mansion once stood. It was now a huge mess, I could even smell the strong scent of burned wood and clothing as I stared at the ground in sorrow. "When are we going to start rebuilding the mansion?" I asked as my attention turned to my beloved.

He had a serious face as he studied the mess before him. "As soon as we clean up the mess. Right now, I think it might be best for all of us to get some sleep." He even explained to me of what happened right back at the mansion where Angelique was eventually killed. How Carolyn had the power of a werewolf, how the ghost of Laura Collins dealt the final blow on the witch that tried to take my life by using a curse, and he even told the witch off by saying that 'She could not love because that was her curse.'

I noticed that something caught Carolyn's attention as she growled. Her eyes somehow changed to gold and her mouth grew fangs. "Another vampire is coming." She was right when we all turned to look at what Carolyn was talking about.

Among the wreckage of the mansion, stood a womanly figure with red hair, to which I immediately recognized was Dr. Julia Hoffman. But... why did Carolyn say that she was a vampire?

I didn't have the time to ask questions as the doctor made her move. She appeared right by Barnabas using her vampire speed, whispering harshly to him. "I told you that you have a gift which you cannot keep to yourself, Barnabas. Since you refused to let me have eternal youth, why did you give it 'the nanny'? Am I not worthy to have it too?"

Barnabas told. "Victoria is an exception, since I had no choice but to give her that because of the curse Angelique placed on her. While you on the other hand would abuse it." He glared at the doctor when she cocked her head in annoyance before shrugging it off. "I am serious Julia, you won't be able to handle the stuff I do!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Barnabas, get over it!" Julia shrugged while rolling her eyes.

"That's enough, Julia. Quit being a immature child who is stuck in a grown up body!" I suddenly spoke up, I could even feel the venom in my voice.

The doctor turned her attention toward me, glaring. "Just who do you think you are, _nanny_?" Her voice daring me to say something awful to her.

I got into her face as I pointed my finger straight to her eyes, almost close enough to poke them. "I am the reincarnation of Barnabas' fiance who died from the witch's curse long ago. So I expect you to be nice to my husband-to-be, and our family. Also, give me one good reason why you stole some of my fiances blood? But, don't tell me you only did it just because you care about your youth instead of the family that took you in."

Julia just stared at me, giving me a 'how did you know about that' look. Receiving no reply from her, I continued to scold her. "I am honestly ashamed of you, Dr. Hoffman. You are probably are just as bad as Roger for caring about nobody but yourself."

Again, she made no reply, narrowing her eyes at me in a hateful way, like I was not the boss of her. I knew that it was going to be a long night of getting use to each other again.

* * *

Over the next few months, the Collins family finally managed to get the mansion back together. It looked a lot much nicer than when we last rebuilt it. Elizabeth, along with my help, managed to get a little bit more bonding time with Carolyn like how mothers and daughters are suppose to do. David learned how to control his supernatural powers of talking with his ghostly mother, and he helped out Dr. Julia whenever she needed assistance. Carolyn lost some of her usual attitude talk and became nicer to her mother.

Julia seemed to be a lot more nicer than when she was a human. She was more in control of her thoughts and actions, one of them being she quit drinking and smoking, whereas she was making sure that she is a much better person than when she was a mortal. It was too bad that Roger wasn't here to accept the new family routine, but Barnabas thought that it was good that he wasn't there to ruin it.

As for me and Barnabas, we celebrated a small wedding party at the mansion, and of course we decided to keep ourselves hidden within the house since after the attack from Angie. Nobody would want to see vampires living in the mansion of the famous family that took out their main leader who tried to kill us. And no matter how many times I told Barnabas to call me Josette, he still prefers Victoria.

And with the first fishing business got burned down, Elizabeth took over Angie's old fishing business, since she was dead, and somebody has to take over where she left off. For me, I had finally got what I wanted in my life; a family, a kind, loving, husband, and a new life which I have to get used to pretty soon.

My name was Victoria Winters that I made up to escape the life I once had as Maggie Evans by birth, and I am now Josette Reborn, and my story ends here.

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_Author's Note: Even though the story is done here, I might be thinking about some one-sets of Victoria and Barnabas. One of them I am thinking of was when she dresses up as Josette for Halloween and scares the dickens out of Barnabas, another one is if Victoria gets Barnabas to do what Angelique did, but different. Review whenever you like and if you see any mistakes in this chapter, please tell me and I will redo it for your amusement._


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